IBMers play with giant boulder, hold meetings in the air and under water

IBM's uptight, starched-shirt image has survived for many decades, but the stereotype may finally meet its demise at the hands of a giant boulder and a meeting room up in the sky.

IBM is building a virtual world to help its employees collaborate, and while it's not the first big technology company to do so, Big Blue may be unusual in that it decided not to mess with those silly laws of physics in its own virtual environment.

"Why do we need walls and ceilings to do a meeting?" asks Michael Ackerbauer of IBM, who is building the company's virtual world, called the Metaverse. "We’ve had meetings under water and up in the air. Meetings are where you want them to be."

"Some are saying 'wow, this is great, I’m ready to go.' Others are scratching their heads," he says.